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George Stone (composer)
George Stone (born January 19, 1965) is an American musician and educator. George has enjoyed jazz music since the age of 5 when he first heard Maynard Ferguson’s record called Newport Suite. By first grade he listened daily to recordings of groups such as the Four Freshmen, The Hi-Lo’s, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Bud Shank, Frank Rosolino, Howard Roberts, the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, the Candoli brothers, Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond. He memorized the layers of each tune, from the melody to the bass line, to the accompaniment parts and horn parts. But a particular record called Mavis Meets Shorty created commotion in his first grade classroom. “My teacher asked us to tell what our favorite song was and to sing it. At my turn I said, ‘I Remember You’ to which every student looked confused. I validated their fears and those of the teacher by singing not only the lyrics but all the band parts as well. While his jazz initiation was rich , his family was not. Because his parents could not afford piano lessons, he taught himself how to read music while practicing on the family’s reed (pump) organ. By the age of 8 he could play most of the music in family songbooks as well as complex chord structures and progressions. The reed organ forced him to hold onto the keys while changing chords (since they would stop sounding upon release) and this performance practice was instrumental in developing his approach to piano playing and later, orchestration. In 5th grade he began playing trumpet in the beginning band and within the first three weeks he could play all the music. The director invited him to play in the junior high advanced band. George would bicycle to the junior high rehearsal at 7:30 AM and then ride back to the elementary school for an 8:45 AM start. To pay for trumpet lessons, he worked at a local music store in Newhall (now Santa Clarita, CA) and took lesson from Bob Hughes. At the age of 12 he began writing for and directing his first jazz combo, and by age 13 he wrote his first large ensemble arrangements followed by his first big band arrangement at age 14. He then attended the outstanding program at Hart High SchoolHart High School under the direction of Larry Thornton, writing and composing music for all their ensembles while concurrently enrolled at College of the Canyons (COC) in Valencia, CA, performing under the direction of composer, arranger and teacher Stewart "Dirk" Fischer. Fischer became his first composing mentor and their musical and personal association continues today. Upon graduation he enrolled at CSU Northridge where he became a member of the outstanding Jazz A-Band for whom he composed and arranged extensively. He thrived under the expert tutelage of instructors Roy Poper, Gary Pratt and Joel Leach. Upon completion of his degree at CSU Northridge, he began teaching instrumental music at Hart High School. In 1996 he moved to the Central Coast of CA and has since enjoyed a career in music performance, composition and music education for over 20 years. He currently directs the Audio Technology Program and teaches Music Theory and Composition at Cuesta CollegeSan Luis Obispo, CA.,* In 2005, George received the Academic Teacher of the Year in 2005.http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/08/local/me-62862 LA Times 12/8/2000 Music Publishers / Distributors * George Stone Music * Sea Breeze Jazz * UNC Jazz Presshttp://www.uncjazzpress.com/product-p/1272.htm * Walrus Music Publishers References External links * George Stone * Sea Breeze Jazz * UNC Jazz Press * Cuesta College Performing Arts * CSUN Jazz Band * CSUN Guest Artists * Stolen piano recovered * CSUN * The Cambrian/The Telegram Tribune Category:Lyricists